Canadian CEO Slams Trump Role In Conflict That Downed Passenger Jet

0
896

Tension between the United States and Iran took a grim turn last week when Iran mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian International Airways passenger jet, thinking it was U.S. retaliation for a missile barrage the Iranians had just launched on American bases. The incident killed all 176 people on board the aircraft, including 63 Canadians. (Many passengers had been set to take a connecting flight from the plane’s scheduled destination in Ukraine to Canada.) Michael McCain, the CEO of Canadian company Maple Leaf Foods, took to Twitter over the weekend to express his anger over President Donald Trump’s own role in recklessly stoking the tension that led to the crash.

The Iranian missile attacks on bases were meant as direct retaliation for Trump’s abruptly ordered assassination of top Iranian General (and political leader) Qassem Soleimani. The president and his allies have claimed that killing Soleimani thwarted an “imminent” threat against U.S. interests, but over the weekend, Defense Secretary Mark Esper admitted that a specific assessment the president himself had cited was based on Trump’s belief, not some kind of unshakable evidence.

Noting that a colleague of his had lost their entire immediate family to the plane crash, McCain explained:

‘I’m Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, and these are personal reflections. I am very angry, and time isn’t making me less angry… A narcissist in Washington tears world accomplishments apart; destabilizes region. US now unwelcomed everywhere in the area including Iraq; tensions escalated to feverish pitch. Taking out despicable military leader terrorist? There are a hundred like him, standing next in line.’

Soleimani’s successor has already been named, and it’s not as though taking out the guy at the top (Soleimani) seems to have in any way constrained Iran’s ability to launch potentially deadly attacks on U.S. personnel in the region.

McCain continued, noting:

‘The collateral damage of this irresponsible, dangerous, ill-conceived behavior? 63 Canadians needlessly lost their lives in the crossfire… We are mourning and I am livid.’

The CEO also noted that the Iran nuclear deal which Trump so recklessly withdrew from had been working to constrain Iranian behavior. In exchange for economic relief, the country was abiding by the deal’s provisions and dialing back their nuclear program.

Now, some time after the U.S. withdrew and re-imposed sanctions, Iran has said they’re completely abandoning the deal. Although they’ve not made any apparent recent proclamation that they’re after a nuclear weapon in the short term, Trump proclaimed in his remarks after their attack on U.S. bases that Iran will supposedly never get a nuke as long as he’s in office. There was already a deal for that. Wannabe tough guy Trump metaphorically ripped it up.

In this case, Iran refused to admit to a strike on that passenger jet until recently, following very vehement denials and accusations that the account of their missile strike was simply propaganda. Besides Canadians, the plane included citizens of many other countries as well, including Iran, where protests have sprung up against the government over the incident. The U.S. has been among those involved in the international investigation of the crash.

Check out Twitter’s response below…

maple20 Canadian CEO Slams Trump Role In Conflict That Downed Passenger Jet Donald Trump Politics Social Media Top Stories maple15 Canadian CEO Slams Trump Role In Conflict That Downed Passenger Jet Donald Trump Politics Social Media Top Stories maple10 Canadian CEO Slams Trump Role In Conflict That Downed Passenger Jet Donald Trump Politics Social Media Top Stories maple4 Canadian CEO Slams Trump Role In Conflict That Downed Passenger Jet Donald Trump Politics Social Media Top Stories